Stretchless Tim

GAME SUMMARY:
Any time you have more errors than runs, you should expect to lose and that is exactly what happened as the Reds took advantage of our boys by the score of 8-3.  The game turned on 2 four run outbursts by the Reds, each of which featured Tim Lincecum and his battery mate, Hector Sanchez, looking like Little Leaguers for extended periods of time.  Have a stiff drink and put this one behind you. 

TIM FACTS:

Start #12  loss  (4-4, 5.01)   4.1 innings  6 hits  8 runs  8 earned  3 walks  2 strikeouts   1 hr

Except for some post season heroics, Timmeh sucks against the Reds. His worst game last year was 8 runs in less than 4 innings against these same schmoes.  They seem to bring out the worst in him and he put it on display tonight. Especially, with men on base. Almost every time Tim got in the stretch bad things happened. Embarrassing bad things; errors, fat pitches and dozens of stolen bases. Ok, maybe only four, but still!  Tim seems to lose his rhythm easily when he can't do the full wind up. He has always been like this, just back in the day he had enough bullets in his gun to get away with it. Those days are long gone.  Heavy sigh. Maybe we will get the gritty, almost quality Tim back next start. 

HIGH and/or LOWLIGHTS:
A pity to waste a nice night from Hunter. He was a triple shy of his first cycle. The homer was an impressive liner on a shoulder high fastball. 

Three of Four in St. Louis

The G-Train keeps rolling with another big win against a formidable foe. Tim Hudson went seven strong, allowing only three hits and not giving up a run to the defending NL champs. The lineup stroked 14 hits and plated eight and the fielders handled everything perfectly. Speaking of the lineup, Buster Posey was back and he looked great, getting three hits. Super-sub Joaquin Arias got the start at first base and he came back from the dead with three hits, a walk, and three batted in. He's been struggling and it was nice to see him get it going. The Giants jumped on Lance Lynn in the 1st and never let up, BABIP'ing the home team with lots of well-placed grounders and sharp liners and seizing the initiative after an error by second baseman Kolten Wong. Gregor Blanco pulled one into the RF corner for an RBI triple in the 6th and that was the furthest a ball traveled today for the Giants. Looks like they can score whether they hit home runs or not! Brandon Crawford has been slumping and he got on base twice and drove in two. He also robbed rookie phenom Oscar Taveras of a hit in the 6th with one of those phantom scoops (plus a spin-and-throw move) on a hard hit ball up the middle. It's amazing how many would-be hits he turns into outs.

I'm still in a bit of shock as the Giants respond to yesterday's shutout by the Cardinals with a shutout of their own. Four games, three wins, combined score 23-11. San Francisco pitchers have allowed 190 runs in 57 games, exactly 3-1/3 per game. 190 is the third-lowest total in baseball behind only Atlanta (183) and Oakland (178). Mike Morse sat out after fouling a ball off his foot yesterday which is why Arias got the nod. He's expected to be back in the lineup after the off-day tomorrow. David Huff got in an inning of scoreless work in the 9th after his ugly effort on Friday night. I'm a member of the Church of Three Lefties in the 'Pen and I think the team is going to need him over the long haul so I was encouraged. He has good-looking stuff but seems to have some command issues so let's hope he gets those worked out.

Tim Lincecum will get the call on Tuesday in Cincinnati. The Reds are 25-29 and 7-1/2 back in the Central, but were 90-game winners last season so you have to figure they will improve.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Summertime Fun

So you figure Madison Bumgarner against Adam Wainwright for a summertime pitchers' duel.  You pop a chicken in the oven to roast, mix a cocktail for the missus and have a seat, except before you can even sit down - BAM! the Giants are in front.  And then, just as you get settled, BAM! - the Giants run up a lead.  Oh, my goodness.

Last time out, Adam Wainwright, the Cardinals' ace, threw 8 shutout innings, striking out 12 Reds and garnering his 8th W against 2 L.  He had a 1.67 ERA coming into tonight and a 0.85 WHIP.  He lasted 4 1/3 innings against the Giants, giving up 7 runs (all earned) on 8 hits.  Madison Bumgarner, meanwhile, again struck out 10, only walked 1 in 7 innings.  No runs and only 3 hits for Madison.  After 7, with the score 9 - 0, it was time to give Huff some work.  It is a great opportunity to do just that, if he is going to right himself and remain on the big club, no better time than with a 9-run lead.

Giants had 12 hits.  2 each from Pagan, Pence, Sandoval, Morse and Blanco.  Pence's 3-run booming home run was damaging, running the score to 5 - 0 in the second inning, but Blanco made it 7 - 0 in the 5th with a 2-rbi single and Hector Sanchez did likewise to make it 9 - 0 in the 7th.  I didn't mind because I once saw the Cardinals score 8 runs against the Giants.  In one inning.  All on singles.  The Cardinals scored some runs off of Huff, but this game was really all about Madison's dominance and Wainwright's lack of dominance.  Fun!

The Panda did not get an rbi.  That's OK, big fella, just keep swinging the bat.

Third Inning: 12-6

The Giants stand atop the baseball world at 35-19 after a thrilling victory in St. Louis. Here's the tally for the first third of the season:

First inning, 10-8,
Second inning, 13-5,
Third inning, 12-6.

The Giants .648 percentage projects to 105 wins! Foolish thought, I know, but I couldn't help myself. My goodness, the ballclub is playing well. Michael Morse delivered another huge game this evening--his opposite field double off flame-throwing Trevor Rosenthal in the 8th was equally as impressive as his moon shot in the 2nd off starter Jamie Garcia. The Giants put up six and needed them all as Ryan Vogelsong allowed four and closer Sergio Romo allowed another. I like how the team scored with both big flies and lowly singles and tossed in a stolen base as well. Lots of arrows in the quiver, I say! Vogie had a couple of rocky stretches but still recorded 19 outs against a tough lineup and kept the game close. Strong relief from Javier Lopez and the unstoppable force that is Jean Machi kept the lid on until the 9th. Romo scared the crap out of everyone with an ugly, 25-pitch torture-fest but managed to nail down the save. I have not "worried" about a single Giants player so far this season. I knew Panda would come out of his funk. He now has an RBI in nine straight games. I know Buster will bust loose. Matt Cain will be Matt Cain again. Slumps, bad luck, injuries, they all happen to everyone. But I will admit to some worry about Sergio--that was a dangerous tightrope act he put on tonight.

The Giants rank 14th among 30 teams with a .313 wOBA and 9th with a 100 wRC+ (FanGraphs). They rank 13th with a .716 OPS but 8th with a 105 OPS+ (B-R). The Giants are 6th in both FIP (3.48) and ERA+ (110), and 3rd in ERA (3.03). The team has scored 232 runs and allowed 184--that run difference (+48) is the best in the NL and second only to Oakland's ridiculous +100.

The first third of the 2014 season belongs to San Francisco. They have shown they can pitch, hit, field, and run. They've survived some crucial injuries and some key players have yet to deliver as expected. If they can stay healthy and get some guys back on track (like Cain) they could sustain their excellent play into the summer. It's weird to have the team be so hot early in the year. In 2012 their best months were June, August and September, and in 2010 they were April, July and September. This is a different club, though, and there are many paths to the Promised Land. Let's hope the lads can find theirs.

Three more games with the defending NL champs. Madison Bumgarner tomorrow.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Freakishly Effective Tim

GAME SUMMARY:

For the second day in a row, the Giants shut out the hapless Cubbies, 5-0.  It was a midweek day game, so I pretty much missed the whole thing. Which really SUCKS because after scanning the wrap it was clear that this would have been a great game to see; it had all kinds of cool shit (if you are a Giants fan, that is.) But most of all it featured Tim Lincecum once again being surprisingly effective. He may not have known where it was going, but neither did they.  And, they sure as shit could not hit it.

TIM FACTS:

Start #11  ND  (4-3, 4.18)   5 innings  0 hits  0 runs  0 earned  4 walks  5 strikeouts  0 hr

Look at those zeroes! Aint they sweet? Sure, five innings, six base runners and almost a hundred pitches are kinda ugly. But look at those zeroes! Unhittable and ugly, at the same time! That's our Freak.  Is it a little surprising that Bochy pulled Tim when he did? Maybe, but classic, by-the-book baseball moves are boring. And there is nothing classic or by-the-book about our Timmeh. Anyway, talk of a blister makes the decision easier. Isn't it amazing how different our two Tims are? Well, one thing they have in common now is kicking Cub ass.  

HIGH and/or LOWLIGHTS:
Besides Lincecum, several other Giants deserve note. The bullpen continues to shine. The latest addition, George Kontos looks good to me. His command and velocity seem to be at a higher level than last year. I bet he stays around for a while.
Pablo kept his RBI streak alive at eight games. Impressive achievement. If he gets to nine he joins people like Ott and Mays, I think. Keep it up Panda!
Tip o the cap to Hector Sanchez! Looks like he will pair up with Tim from now on. Not sure if that is a reward. Although when Tim throws his next no hitter, Hector will get the photo op.
And finally, congrats to Hunter! Can you believe someone brought the scooter back?

Even It Up

Giants square the series with the Cubs behind another strong start from Tim Hudson (Game Score 70). Throw in some clutch hitting (two two-out run-scoring hits) with some superb infield defense (B-Craw!) and the San Francisco home formula delivers another win. The local lads up their record at AT&T to 18-9 which is just behind the 20-8 Marlins and 16-7 Rockies and just ahead of the 15-8 Cardinals. Win big at home and break even on the road usually works. The Giants are 15-10 in away games so far and that's a good thing as it looks like the race in the West will be a tight one.

Tim Lincecum goes tomorrow afternoon. It's the team's 54th game, one-third of the season. I'll throw out a few "third inning" thoughts after JC's post.

Keep it rolling, Giants!

--M.C.


p.s. Correction: the Giants play Game 54 on Thursday against the Cardinals. Game 48 was suspended!

Mad About the Boy

There is something about watching Madison Bumgarner pitch, when he is pitching well.  He looks so relaxed throwing the ball that it seems like it is coming out of his hand in a leisurely way.  That is a misconception.  Madison struck out 10 today in 7 innings and did not walk anyone.  He threw first pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters he faced, and 77 of the 107 pitches he threw were strikes (72%).

Madison breezed through the first 2 innings, striking out Joe Mauer (the first of three K's for Mr. Mauer vs. Madison).  The Giants, after their fashion lately, did not hesitate in putting up 2 runs in the first inning, aided by Minnesota's defensive sloppiness.  In the third, Eduardo Escobar dropped his bat head and found a hit.  I dropped my bat head once, it hit my foot and hurt like hell.  Danny Santana singled, but a way wide throw from Hunter Pence let Escobar go to third, whereupon he scored on a sac fly.  Not entirely sure why that should be an earned run, but it was.  There was only one more Minnesota hit off of Madison.  George Kontos came in and pitched the eighth and ninth innings, giving up only 1 hit and striking out 3.  It is helpful if your opposition does not touch the ball in 13 of their 27 outs.

No matter though, as the Giants came back with a Hunter Pence solo home run in the bottom of the third, then added some more as Brandon Crawford scored Michael Morse from second on a deep sac fly in the fourth, Michael Morse cleared Madbum, Gregor Blanco and Hunter Pence with a double in the fifth and Tyler Colvin batted in Pablo Sandoval from third in the eighth.  Final score 8 - 1! 

Here are some batting lines:
Michael Morse - 3 doubles and a sac fly (4 rbi)
Hunter Pence - 3 for 4 (3 runs scored)
Gregor Blanco - 3 for 4
Pablo Sandoval - 2 for 4 (1 rbi)


So we swept the Twinkies, and swept the other American League team we have played, the Cleveburgers.  Today was a great example of how we have been winning games.  We got a bunch of hits, but rbi's spread over the line-up.  Buster, our linch-pin, is in a bit of a slump (but did get a hit and score a run) and we win anyway.  Santiago Casilla, a vital cog in our relief, goes down and we win anyway (and Kontos looks ready to fill some big shoes here).  Of course, our starters are giving us enough innings so that our relief is not beat up - that's huge.  Today, Madison was truly ace-like.  Can't wait until he pitches again.